Zion in Appalachia
by Robespierre Cincinnati
Summary: The Trinity Kingdom was one of the strongest militias in Tennessee.


**Sparta, Tennessee**

**(This section of Middle Tennessee became home to a fanatic theocracy known as the Trinity Kingdom. Trinity never fully accepted reintegration, and a guard watches over me as I talk with Brother Hank Adams.)**

It was when the Lawmen came that the Speaker began our church.

**Pardon?**

Oh, I apologize. I'm so used to talking with my fellow churchgoers that I forgot that most Americans do not know our vernacular. The Speaker, whose pre-War name was Rachel Fisher, is our church leader. We refer to the zombies as Lawmen, due to our... unique views on them.

**Could you explain?**

The Trinity Kingdom believes that the zombies were sent by the Lord as a punishment for the deviant and wicked; they were lawmen. And as for the zombies attacking us, they were another challenge we must overcome to receive God's graces.

(waits patiently)

Well, anyways, we both lived in Sparta, a small town in White County. It was about a week before the zombies arrived that Sister Rachel had her first revelation. When standing in the old amphitheatre, she saw the ghost of John the Baptist descend, warning her of the Lawmen. He told her that she was to gather faithful followers and fortify for the coming storm. She quickly gained a flock of 48, but little more than that. Nobody disbelieved her message of the zombies, but plenty decried her as a heretic.

(sips sweet tea)

Her followers... commandeered a few government buildings... foraged for supplies, and waited out while the Great Panic made East Tennessee a Hell on Earth.

**You're hesitating before your words...**

(looks angrily, but quickly composes himself)

She may have done some things that Americans consider evil, but it was necessary! Wouldn't you follow the orders from your God? The survivors at the Wal-Mart refused to surrender, she had to do what she could... I was the only one who surrendered. [1] I was a Baptist preacher, but I heard the voice of God, and I willingly knelt before her. She spared me, and afterwards, I could see a flaming crucifix in the sky. She was the only other one who saw it. I know, I know, she could have lied, but this is my religion.

1: The Wal-Mart Massacre was the most controversial action of the Trinity Kingdom, in which they slaughtered all of the survivors who refused to surrender.

**I'm not here to judge you.**

Early on, we fortified in the several buildings, and held out for a month. Afterwards, we started raiding parties. It was never easy, as the zombies were still plentiful, but we adopted an aggressive evangelizing program.

**How did you gain followers so easily?**

We accepted anybody, but heathens were forced to be laborers and soldiers with the lowest standing. Many converted without truly accepting the faith, but over time most of the heathens accepted the Gospel as the truth. After two weeks of raiding, we began to clear Sparta completely, and renamed it New Jerusalem. Sister Rachel told us we would create the Trinity Kingdom, and rule the world. She really meant Tennessee, since we new very well that "the world" wasn't going to happen without divine help.

**I find it interesting that you seem so dismissive of that idea.**

You can't rely on divine help. One who waits, like a sheep without a shepherd, for God's assistance will receive none. Anyways, we began walling New Jerusalem, and retook the local farms. We wanted to build a strong economy, but quick expansion was necessary, so we began producing modified cars and trucks, ones that could be used to fight the zombies and the militias. We tried to establish nearby power plants. We were self-sufficient within weeks. [1] Within the first year, we had control of five counties, and a fairly large population. We had electricity, plumbing, and were moving on to greater things.

1: Religious fanaticism compelled the Trinitarians to work very hard, and as a consequence they developed much faster than other isolated groups.

**Did you ever have to deal with non-Trinitarian militias?**

Very frequently. Aggressive evangelization.

**What stopped your expansion?**

Oh, we continued to expand, but the potential converts were used up, and it was more a matter of gaining resource deposits and liberating counties. The temporary death of the Trinity Kingdom was the arrival of the US Army. They assaulted Cookeville, forcing our war.

**The United States did not lay the first blows.**

Yes they did, they gunned down a number of our soldiers.

**In response to declaration of war.**

(looks unhinged)

We had done no such thing. We were receiving them.

**The Trinitarians had seeded Kingston Pike.**

(anger)

To stop the advance of zombies.

**The Spec Ops team that captured the main temple in Sp... New Jerusalem... found messages between Sister Rachel and the commander of the garrison that say it was done to inflict human casualties.**

(bangs fist on table)

It was a lie!

**The Trinitarians also continued to wage a guerilla war, one they continue today. In fact, I have read about you participating in attacks.**

I NEVER FOUGHT AT ALGOOD! [1]

(rolls off porch in wheelchair)

1: Brother Hank has been recorded as one of the guerillas who unsuccessfully attempted to ambush American soldiers at Algood. During the battle, he lost the use of his legs.

**(Trinitarians still continue a guerilla war against the American occupiers, bombing government buildings and committing hate crimes against homosexuals and non-Christians. The day I left, my car exploded seconds before I turned to open the door. It was the fourth such car bomb I had seen that day.)**


End file.
